I was wondering, actually, what difference is there between posing a problem to a statistician and to a broadly educated ‘rationalist’.
If the statistician is competent, he has a specialized toolset and the necessary skills to use it—something that a generalist usually lacks.
The question is similar to “what’s the difference between complaining about some pain to a doctor and to a broadly educated rationalist”.
Moreover, stats is one of those fields where “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” applies in spades...
If the statistician is competent, he has a specialized toolset and the necessary skills to use it—something that a generalist usually lacks.
The question is similar to “what’s the difference between complaining about some pain to a doctor and to a broadly educated rationalist”.
Moreover, stats is one of those fields where “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” applies in spades...